


Handsome Jack AKA Rhys's Coffee Dealer

by Zainat_Al_Banat



Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst, Caffeine Addiction, Finals Week, Fluff, M/M, Modern AU, Poor Rhys, Slow Build, Slow Burn, WIP, but more tags to come, coffee shop owner Jack, college student Rhys, he's got a storm coming, i can't tag a lot of this cuz it would just spoil, oooooo boi, the great broad dangerous world of militant corporations
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-08 01:32:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8824879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zainat_Al_Banat/pseuds/Zainat_Al_Banat
Summary: Jack is a barista at a local coffee store. Rhys’s finals are coming up, so let’s just say they ended up seeing each other a lot. Rhys is just trying to get by. Jack isn't who he says he is.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my second ever fic, and of course, it's Rhack again... shocker. I personally love coffee shop AUs, so being the absolute trash I am, I wrote this. Jack's hot. Rhys is hot but doesn't know it. Hopefully not OOC, but ah well.

“Maybe if I just jump out a window and break my leg I won’t have to write this essay. Ten feet won’t kill me right?” Rhys said to his companions. The café was decently packed, forcing Rhys to complain extra loudly so that Yvette and Vaughn could hear him from across the table.

“Bro, I think you’re just overreacting,” Vaughn replied, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Hmph, I seem to remember you saying the exact same words to me last year,” Rhys responded. 

“Hey it’s not our fault you’re a just a baby,” Yvette smirked. Leaning back on the comfy booth he had to himself, Rhys pouted, reminding Yvette that he was just three years younger than her. His friend had just secured a decent paying job at Hyperion, the tech giant that every engineering and computer science student at University of Elpis would kill to work at. Despite this, Yvette still managed to float the bill every time they went out. Granted, Rhys saw Yvette less and less as the year went on, typical of Rhys’s busy student schedule, but it still pissed him off. The three of them sat in their usual spot, the corner of the café. Over the course of their college education, Café Helios had been become their hangout destination due to its convenient placement two blocks from Rhys and Vaughn’s apartment. With or without his friends accompanying him, as finals season geared up to smack every student across the face, Rhys found himself thankful that the Café didn’t close until 10pm and more and more in need of the bitter ambrosia that was Café Helios’s imported Brazilian coffee. Throughout this week, Rhys had made on average two solo runs for coffee per day. Today, Vaughn and Yvette agreed to have a help-Rhys-pass-his-classes coffee outing. Notebooks, textbooks, flashcards, highlighters, and an overheating laptop littered the table. Second cup of coffee in hand, Rhys flipped through his notes, trying to find some way to BS this economics essay whose strict deadline was tomorrow. 

The noise in the café had peeked as the time hit 3pm. After staring at his indecipherable notes for another two minutes, the auburn haired man grunted in frustration and shut his book. 

“Well if you don’t want to work on that economics essay. You may as well study for your Physics final,” Vaughn said as if talking to a child who refused to do their chores.

“What did I do to deserve this?” Rhys moped, “I must have kicked like three puppies in another life.” 

As more and more people gathered in the already over populated coffee shop, the cacophony of the machines and shrill laughs of college kids pounded inside Rhys’s exhausted brain. 

“Why don’t we just go to the library or something,” growled Rhys.

Yvette smirked, looking past Rhys at the front counter, “I can think of one reason to stay.” Rhys turned around to meet her gaze. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The trio knew that the local café was getting more and more traffic, and sure, Café Helios was way louder than it normally was, but that only made Rhys want to take the five minute cab ride to the library even more. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rhys said.

“The new barista over there. He just came out of the door,” Yvette lowered her voice and leaned over. Rolling his eyes, Rhys turned around again, maneuvering his line of sight past the other customer, trying to find the guy she was talking about. He did not expect to lay eyes on the hottest guy he had ever seen. Sporting a white button up (with only two thirds of the buttons actually buttoned up), the barista’s exposed arms worked with extreme precision on the loud coffee machines. The man’s face looked like it had been cut from the finest marble. Well, marble that had a healthy tan glow. His jawline looked strong enough to cut someone. Rhys felt his face grow even warmer, when he glimpsed a tattoo wrapped around his right wrist. But the young man couldn’t fathom how big the barista was. Now Rhys was tall. He hit 6 foot 2 in high school, but this man looked at least three inches taller than him. Three inches doesn’t mean much if you were a twig like Rhys, but standing straight up to eye the line at the counter, the man was three extra inches of the perfect mix between lean and muscular. Clearing his throat a couple times, Vaughn attempted in vain to get Rhys’s attention. Yvette sighed and reached across the table to smack Rhys’s arm, hard.

“OW!” Rhys nearly shouted to Yvette, rubbing his arm, “What was that for?”

“You were staring,” Vaughn said, clearly uncomfortable, “like a lot. I think it’s been ten minutes.” Wiping off a bit of drool that threatened to spill, the blushing mess of a man tried to hide in the booth as much as possible like a child who just got caught reaching for the cookie jar. Laughing, Yvette stood up and straightened her attire. She wore a grey pencil skirt and an orange blouse that perfectly showed off her assets. While her attitude may have at times pissed Rhys off, Yvette was still a loyal friend who stuck with Rhys and Vaughn despite moving up in the world. That is until she proceeded to rip Rhys’s heart right out of his chest. 

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I am going to get that boy’s number,” she sneered, walking away from the table and up to the counter. The young man went back to staring at his textbook he brought but not before stealing another glance at the handsome brunette at the front. Rhys almost gasped when his brown and blue eyes met the mystery man’s blue and green. The man lifted his chin in a universal sign of acknowledgment before returning to his work, seeming much less impressed with what he saw than Rhys. As Yvette approached the front counter, the student abruptly spun back around in his booth and let his head fall onto the book. 

“Hey man, I know finals are rough, but it’s almost over. Then it’s summer vacation and video game time!” Vaughn said, still on the subject of Rhys’s impending finals. Despite the hot weather and the hotter coffee, Rhys’s best friend and roommate, sat comfortably in a thick flannel and slacks. 

Yvette walked briskly back to the table with a piece of paper in hand. Annoyed, Rhys leaned his head back against his chair, daring some higher power to smite him right then and there. Taking her seat next to Vaughn, she toyed with the small slip of what looked like a ripped receipt before sliding it over to Rhys.

“He told me to give it to ‘that cute stress ball’,” Yvette said, defeated. Rhys snatched the paper, more forcefully than he had intended. The paper was indeed a piece of receipt. On it was a phone number along with a hastily written message “Im Jack. Ur cute. Text me”. If anyone else had tried to get away with giving Rhys that message, he would have laughed in their face, but with this guy? Vaughn could have sworn he heard him swoon.

“Rhys, he’s looking over here,” Vaughn whispered to Rhys. The young man whipped around to see that the man was indeed looking over at their table. He felt his body freeze up. And oh my god he just winked. Heart pounding, Rhys worried he would pass out. Instead he pretended to not notice anything turned back to face his friends with a what-the-fuck-do-I-do-now look. 

“Oh my god. You are hopeless,” Yvette sighed, “go up and talk to him.” So he nodded and got up.

The auburn haired man stood up and made his way across the café to the counter. Just go up there and say hi. It’s not that hard Rhys. What’s the worst that could happen? Upon further glances, it was apparent that the man was even more attractive closer up and was indeed taller than him, although not by much. A distinct streak of silver flowed in between the rest of his chocolate brown waves. Along the contours of his nose and forehead was a long faded scar that Rhys was surprised he didn’t notice until now. The scar was so clean; no signs of stiches were present, however, it made him look a good amount older. The college student wondered what could make a mark like that, but he knew enough not to ask about it.

“Well, are you going to say hi or something, cupcake?” the man asked, breaking Rhys out of his petrification. The only word the frozen student managed to get out was:

“Lawrence?” Rhys said, looking at the nametag on his shirt. Perhaps that wasn’t the most eloquent way of asking whether or not the man standing in front him was the same guy who wrote that note. Rhys kept his guard up in case Yvette was trying to punk him and make him look like an idiot in front of this smoking barista. 

“It’s called a last name. Only assholes who wanna complain about the coffee call me Lawrence. But good looking guys like you call me Jack,” he said.

“Right- Jack- Sorry. Uhm. I’m- uh-“

“Don’t hurt yourself there, kiddo. It’s Rhys, yeah? You’re friend over there said so,” Jack chuckled. His laugh sounded the way hot fudge tasted, “although I like cute stress ball more.” He smirked. The man seemed to enjoy watching Rhys get flustered, “listen, Rhys. Let’s cut to the chase. I get off work in about an hour. How about you and I go catch a movie?”

“How old are you exactly?” Rhys asked. He had meant to sound more inquisitive, but the question came out of his mouth a lot more accusatory. He was only twenty one after all, and while this stranger was way out of his league, Rhys wasn’t sure if this was all some sick joke.

“Twenty six!” Jack replied in a fake scandalized voice but immediately went back to business, “so how about that movie?” This guy is asking me out? How about we skip the movie and get right to the action? Rhys felt a shiver run down his spine, snapping him out of his fantasy. He wanted oh so wanted to say yes. How could he not? This guy was funny, witty, and not to mention the most fuckable man he had ever seen.

“Tonight?” Rhys said, seemingly only capable of one word responses.

“Uh yeah?” Jack answered, impatient. 

“Um Jack, I’m sorry. I really have to study for my finals,” he said, remembering his unwritten essay and the mounds of work that his anxious brain was dying to go back to. The younger man knew one “no” wasn’t the end of the world, but regret overpowered his senses. He couldn’t help but feel like he just missed the express train to having a super-hot boyfriend. Plus, sitting ten feet away on his table was his only chance of maintaining his GPA. 

“Suit yourself,” Jack said, looking slightly deflated. Rhys wouldn’t be surprised if he found out that that was the first time the handsome man had ever been rejected, “wouldn’t wanna date someone who flunked out of school anyway. Don’t forget to text me.” 

With that, Jack immediately went back to his work, asking a woman for her order, and Rhys took the hint. He turned around and headed back to his table, his heart still racing, his cheeks…. Probably still red. His essay was still not done after all. It was only four o’ clock, but Rhys knew it was going to be a long night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys and Jack go on a date! Sort of. How do college kids have time to date?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER 2!! This is my first multi-chapter fic, so I wanted to thank those of you that commented and gave me the validation I needed to write this next chapter haha. I love how many interpretations of Rhys's character there are, but this is mine for this particular fic. Jack, on the other hand, is so much fun to write, and I hope I did the psycho maniac in a cafe AU justice :D

Over the course of the next two days, Rhys managed to get about three hours sleep on average per night. At this point he wasn’t sure what was keeping him going, his crippling fear of failure or the boat loads of caffeine in his system. Today, he sat alone in the usual corner booth, his third cup of coffee sat half drank next to his laptop and the small robotics models he brought with him. 

“What’s the matter, cupcake?” said a voice from behind his booth. Rhys turned around to see Jack in his still unbuttoned shirt and apron leaning over the top of the booth behind him, startling him. 

“Ah, uh nothing just this robotics project is going to be the death of me,” he replied, staring at the schematics on his laptop. He had had three weeks to work on his final plans for his robotics class, but deadline after deadline appeared as hurdles, leaving the project like literally all of his other work, unfinished until the last minute. 

“Robotics,” Jack pondered. To Rhys’s surprise, he gripped the top of the booth, hoisted himself over, and nudged Rhys over until he planted himself in the booth next to him. “Show me,” he said. Fuck that stupid, gorgeous voice. It wasn’t fair how every word the man spoke sent shivers down his spine. Rhys reached for his models to show him. His hands were shaking, but there were plenty of reasons from stress, caffeine, or the fact that this hot guy wanted to listen to him be a nerd. 

“Um, well. I’ve been working on a design for-,” he flipped the model in his hand only for him to drop it off the table. He let out a nervous laugh and a quick apology. His breath hitched as Jack put his head on his lap and reached under the table to pick up the plastic model. Jack pulled his head up, and their eyes met. His eyes were so fucking mesmerizing and, Rhys felt all the words leave his mind. _Oh God, he probably thinks I’m a creep or worse a total idiot._ Jack blinked his big eyes twice before letting out a loud laugh and clapping the back of Rhys’s shoulder with his hand. 

“Chill out, kid,” he laughed, “you’re looking at me like I’m the high school bully who’s gonna steal your lunch.”

His laugh infected Rhys with a wave of calmness. He held the plastic model in his large hands and ran his fingers along the grooves Rhys spent hours carving, studying it.

“Robotic arm, huh?” he wondered before scoffing, “you know, Hyperion pumps out hundreds of new models of puppies like these every month.” Rhys couldn’t tell if the man was legitimately insulting his work or testing him. And if he was testing him, how much about robotics could this random barista know.

“It’s not just a robotic arm,” Rhys replied, pulling out his laptop, “it has another part. An ECHO eye. Hyperion keeps making more and more ECHO devices. Each one supposedly sleeker than the last. But the human eye already has most of the processing capabilities that’s in an ECHO device, so you can cut most of the junk and make it small enough to fit in an iris. But let’s be honest, they’re way too traditional to think of something like this.” He scrolled through the schematics of his ECHO eye to show him. They were still in the early phases, but Jack had opened the floodgates, whether he wanted to or not. Rhys paused and took a huge gulp of his coffee, waiting for a response. Jack crossed his arms and held a hand to his chin. 

“Cute,” he chuckled. Feeling his face turn red, Rhys cleared his throat. The barista took the laptop from the stuttering student, placing it front of him and scrolling through the schematics. 

“Where’s the coding?” He asked, without talking his eyes off the laptop. Rhys pointed to a folder on the desktop, slightly annoyed that Jack seemed to no longer be paying any attention to him. The older man rubbed his chin and clicked through each coding sequence, absorbing Rhys’s work at lightning speed. “Traditional, huh,” he muttered. Sitting up straight, proud of his work, Rhys awaited praise.

“Forgot something,” he said, smug. Rhys felt his heart sink. Fuck his professors. Right now he just lost the approval of someone way more important. “The eye processes images upside down, pumpkin. You forgot that bit of code.” He handed the laptop back to Rhys and re-crossed his arms, looking accomplished. The embarrassed college student slumped into his seat, staring at his laptop. He felt like an idiot. Of all the things to neglect he forgot the most basic fact. If his face wasn’t red before, it sure was now. 

“Relax, cupcake. This is still better work than anything I’ve seen at Hyperion,” Jack said finally, “smart and cute, huh.”

Jack seemed to enjoy toying with Rhys, deriving pleasure from watching the younger man flip through emotions so quickly. He looked up at Jack with a curious look on his face. The man seemed to know a lot more about Hyperion than he was letting on.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I see that adorable look you’re giving me,” Jack retorted with a wave of his hand, “how does some random albeit incredibly handsome barista know aaaaall about the biggest tech giant on Elpis?” he paused, seemingly for dramatic effect, “I worked there, boom. So about that movie?” Rhys rolled his eyes at the inadequate response, but he knew better than to push it with this guy. 

“Like last time. I really can’t. Finals are coming up soon,” Rhys said, “I really really want to though.” Jack pouted. This man was as persistent as he was handsome, but Rhys knew better. 

“Fine. Then I guess we’re having our date here,” he answered. Taken aback, Rhys gave him a confused look. 

“What?”

“Study date, genius,” Jack replied. Rhys was immediately opposed to the idea. It’s not like he didn’t want to spend time with Jack. It was the opposite actually. It’s just that the more time they spent together, the more anxious Rhys got, anxious that Jack would be disappointed. Yeah sure he may like him right now, but what if he found out that Rhys was actually a total loser? What did he even see in him? Rhys wasn’t exactly bad-looking to his own standards, but he didn’t feel he was really good-looking either. 

Jack raised his hand and called over a barista from the front counter. The unlucky worker bee sighed and trotted over to their booth.

“Hey, Blake,” Jack said, “two milkshakes, pronto.”

Blake, the barista, let out another annoying sigh, “Mr. Lawrence, I’m sure you remember that we don’t serve milkshakes anymore.” The fact that anyone called this guy Mr. Lawrence seemed so out of character Rhys could have laughed. Blake’s remark earned him a death glare so heinous that Rhys couldn’t believe such a beautiful face could also make him scared shitless and just a little bit turned on. Blake sighed once again and walked away.

“I didn’t think this place sold milkshakes,” Rhys inquired.

“It doesn’t,” Jack chuckled, “but what I say goes, kitten.” Rhys giggled. _What the fuck? Did I just fucking giggle?_ Jack put his hands behind his head and leaned back into the corner of the booth, “so show me what work’s got your panties in a twist.” Blake quickly returned with their milkshakes which Jack finished in about three sips. 

For the next three hours, Jack insisted Rhys take him through every essay he was in the process of writing and every project that was half done. Every now and then Jack would scoot up close to Rhys to check out another schematic. The warm contact made Rhys freeze and his brain turn to mush. To his disappointment, just as quickly as he would initiate the contact, the older man retreated back into the corner of the booth. What Rhys really learned, however, was that Jack was smart. Like really really smart. There wasn’t a single assignment he showed him that he didn’t first compliment then show him how to make it ten times better. This only made him all the more interested in why he was spending his time working in a tiny coffee shop in a college town. Rhys, however, felt his senses dull; all of the sudden he felt exhausted like his body was slowly sinking into his seat.

“Damn,” he yawned, “I really need another cup of coffee if I’m going to make it through tonight.”

“Well, sheesh, kiddo, didn’t know I was that boring,” Jack retorted. Rhys was taken aback. Did this guy just imply that Rhys was the one who didn’t want be around him? 

“No, no. It’s not you. I just got like four hours of sleep last night,” Rhys said, fishing through his pockets for his wallet. He turned away from Jack and pulled it out of his back pocket. It was empty. He was absolutely fucking broke. “Fuck,” he muttered.

“What’s the matter?” Jack asked.

“Nothing. It’s just- God. I uh just left my wallet at home,” he lied. 

“Ah well. It’s on the house,” Jack answered, lifting his arm again. He pointed to Blake, then to Rhys. 

“Blake knows everyone’s order. He’s got some weird memory thing. He just pretends he doesn’t know cause he’s an asshole,” Jack said. Rhys thanked him and said he would pay him back. This was definitely an empty promise because the likelihood of him getting more cash fast was pretty slim. He felt a strange discomfort grow inside him. He didn’t like Jack paying for things for him. He wasn’t some little kid that had to be taken care of. Or maybe the discomfort was just coming from some weird masculinity thing. 

Eventually, school work faded away, and the two just started talking. Rhys discovered that he adored Jack’s voice which was good because Jack sure loved to hear his own voice as well. They talked about their favorite TV shows, books, all the caveats in a first date. The college student found himself unable to stop smiling. He probably looked like an idiot, but Jack didn’t seem to be losing interest. They talked for another hour, his homework sitting forgotten in front of them. Throughout this entire time, Jack never brought up the movie or said any of those compliments that made Rhys turn into a puddle. And when closing time for the café came around, and Rhys declared he had to go to the library to finish his paper, Jack nervously cleared his throat and said:

“Welp, good luck. You’re a good kid, Rhys.” 

Rhys felt disappointment creep up. That sounded like the most friend-zone he ever heard. _Good kid? No, I want to fuck you. Don’t sound like my dad, please._ He didn’t know when the conversation shifted. Maybe he said something that made Jack just want to be friends. Man, he must’ve really blew it. Rhys didn’t know what to do besides fake a smile, pack up his things, and leave for the library. 

It was two in the morning when Rhys finally left the library. He didn’t have any money for a cab or bus, and definitely didn’t want to wake up Vaughn and ask him to pick him up, so he walked back to their apartment. He couldn’t stop himself from thinking of Jack. His voice that sounded the way hot chocolate tasted. Rhys felt like everywhere Jack touched, over his clothing mind you, had a permanent stamp of warmth. There was also the fact that the man was a goddamn, crazy-ass genius. 

He pushed his keys into the lock and let himself in. Their apartment was probably the only refuge Rhys had. Thanks to Vaughn’s internship they could afford a comfortably sized apartment. They each had their own rooms and a good sized TV in the makeshift living room next to their kitchen. It was a shame that Rhys had literally no money left. Vaughn, however, was not in his room. He was lounging on their couch watching crime shows. 

“Don’t you have anything to do tomorrow?” Rhys asked his best friend. Vaughn responded with a cheery nope, hardly taking his eyes off the TV. Rhys walked past him, stopping to pat the leg that Vaughn stuck out from under the blanket he was wrapped in. It was seventy degrees in the middle of the night, and Vaughn still felt the need to be under a blanket. Walking into his room, the familiar smell of dryer sheets made Rhys feel even sleepier. Sitting on his comfy chair he bought himself for Christmas, Rhys opened up his laptop and searched Hyperion’s locations on Elpis. 

“Am I really going to hack into a company’s data-base because I want to get laid?” Rhys asked himself, “yes, I am.” No, he didn’t stalk all of his crushes, but this guy was something else entirely. He wasn’t even in the same ballpark. He was a totally different sport. 

Out of all his talent in robotics, Rhys prided himself most of all on his programming capabilities. When he was twelve, he “accidentally” hacked into DAHL’s bank account and laundered two hundred dollars just so that he could buy his mother a birthday gift. He opened up his command software and began his work. He didn’t expect it would take him long to find what he needed to know, but an hour passed, and he still couldn’t find anything on a Mr. Jack Lawrence. Either Jack lied about working for Hyperion or the very mention of his name was top secret. Rhys didn’t really believe either was true. What he did find was hundreds of unencrypted files with the letters HJ all over them. Just fifteen more minutes Rhys told himself. Then he was going to stop snooping and get a long five hours of sleep before his math history final. Except he opened one more file just to see. 

“Damn” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you like it. Leaving a comment or a kudo is really appreciated. I have the rough outlines of the next chapters coming up. If you guys want! 
> 
> Due to the fact that I have four college applications due by the end of the year, I will try my absolute hardest to post at least one more chapter before school starts up again!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys doesn't exactly have the best day...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHEW it's finally here!! I'm sorry this took so long. It turns out I'm a lot more a perfectionist than I thought. Nothing seemed good enough for such a long time!!!!!!! Interesting in between chapter?

**According to CEO, Harold Tassiter, the Eye is in its final stages of production and is scheduled to be completed before the end of the year. Hyperion has successfully created approximately fifty thousand new jobs over the course of the Eye’s seven-year construction. The representatives of the tech giant have declined to comment on the significant decline in investors and the resulting sharp drop in stocks in the previous fiscal year, along with the rumors that the company may be bought by the ATLAS Corporation. In the end, Brenda, it seems that the relatively new kid on the block is doing just fine. We’ll be back after these messages.**

The obnoxious commercials from the television playing in the living room jolted Rhys awake. He sat up gasping, face sore. Raising his hand to rub his left cheek, he let out a long sigh when he felt the imprint his keyboard left on his face. The computer in front of him was turned off, all the evidence of his snooping erased. His backpack sat closed on his untouched bed, his models sitting patiently inside.

“The sun’s out already?” Rhys whined. The door to his room opened, and Vaughn stepped in, carrying a recently bought cup of coffee. 

“Good morning, sunshine,” he said with a small smile on his face, “how long were you awake last night?” _Way to be the mom friend._ His voice did almost resemble a mother’s, kind and protective. For a long time, Rhys pretended to not enjoy Vaughn’s worrying before realizing there was no point in trying to hide his shortcomings from the shorter man. Bottling everything up just meant that every few weeks he’d have a meltdown in front of all of his friends—or worse his professors. Rhys realized that the best course of action was to let only one person see his bad sides and that person was Vaughn. Hell, if the guy wasn’t straight as an arrow, the two of them would probably have ended up getting married for convenience, so, no, the two happily remained best friends. Rhys pondered how Vaughn managed to get less sleep than him and still function better than him.

“Not--,” Rhys yawned so wide he could almost feel his remaining energy leave his body, “not that long,” he took a look at his alarm clock, “five, six am. I think.” Vaughn handed him the cup of coffee in his hand. Heart skipping a beat, he snapped back at the alarm clock. 10:27 am. Three minutes before his math history final was set to begin. 

“You’re late, aren’t you?” Vaughn asked. Handing him the coffee cup, Rhys frantically nodded to him as he ran to his bathroom and splashed ice cold water on his face. “What the hell kind of class is math history anyway?”

“I don’t know. I slept through most of the class! Euclid’s in there somewhere!” Rhys shouted from the living room as he threw on his socks and shoes, snatched the coffee back from Vaughn, and stumbled out the door. 

Running down the stairs, he checked the time on his watch. 10:35. _Fuck._ Rhys fucking hated this class. Every fiber of his being begged him to let it go and just turn back around and curl into bed. Unfortunately, like the moron that he is, Rhys pretended that his humanities requirement didn’t exist until the very last minute. The sweat from his two-day old outfit rubbed against his skin as he powerwalked/jogged/frantically ran the five blocks to his final. Ignoring all forms of etiquette, the college student burst into his lecture hall and froze like a deer in front of headlights. His professor sighed, handed him the blue book, and pointed to a seat front row, his students unsympathetically snickering at Rhys’s appearance.

***

“Thirty dollars?” Yvette nearly shouted at the unfortunate barista, “you have got to be kidding me! We were here three days ago, and our _exact_ order only costed twenty-two!” The two men standing behind could have laughed and said that she can shout at baristas about prices when she actually starts paying for coffee, but the prices had gotten ridiculous. Rhys remembered the last time they hiked up the prices by at least two dollars about a year ago. Considering his status as a broke college student, Rhys almost decided to end his long-term relationship with the comfy café, but, at that point, Vaughn had already graduated and had just started an internship at ATLAS, giving them just enough money in their pockets to justify going back to the expensive café. 

“Yvette, it’s fine,” Vaughn said, “let’s just go sit for now.” He put his hand on her elbow and led her and Rhys to their booth. Yvette huffed and sat down across from Rhys and Vaughn, obviously still angry. The three of them sat silently in their booth, Yvette steaming and Rhys trying to sink into the leather of the booth, tension thick enough to cut. Vaughn cut it, “So! Rhys, how did your final go?” The bags under the college students eyes had gotten larger and blacker if that was even possible. His hair—caramel curls—that was normally gelled back was sticking up in strands. 

“Oh yeah. It went just fine,” he said sarcastically, not bothering to look at either of them, “yeah reeeeaaaal peachy.”

Yvette looked at Rhys and sighed, “hon, you only have a few more days. Just hold out until then.”

“Yvette, could you go and grab me a drink?” he said, dodging her advice. 

“If you pay for mine too,” she said, standing up and straightening her blouse.

“I’ll pay you back. Promise,” he pouted. No, he wouldn’t. He had no money left. _Right, because I’m broke. And an idiot. A broke idiot who will never amount to anything._ Rhys blinked back hot tears that were beginning to well up in his eyes.

“Fuck. Vaughn. I don’t know how I’m gonna get through this,” he whispered. His body felt ready to fall apart. Yvette was fetching him his fifth cup of coffee of the day, and it was only three o’ clock. He had developed a headache so bad in the middle of his final he turned in his final with only half of the answers filled in and left. 

“You were doing just fine until last night!” Vaughn retorted, “what happened?”

“Nothing!”

“Did something happen with Jack?” he speculated.

“No! Please, I don’t want to talk about him,” Rhys felt like a two year old, but at least he wasn’t lying. He thanked God that Jack wasn’t in today. Considering the state of everything else in his life, Rhys wouldn’t be surprised if Jack took one look at him, hung up his apron, and went home. He didn’t think he could look at the man without passing out, but perhaps that was due to the pressure his skull was under. He said that he didn’t want to date someone who flunked out of school, but it seemed like Rhys managed to convince him not to date him, and now he was going to flunk out of school. Right now, the last thing he wanted was a glowing reminder of yet another mistake of his. Rhys looked around for any sign that Jack might’ve shown up, but only Blake and a girl he didn’t recognize stood at the counter, no sign of the older man. The afternoon rush which was in the middle of Jack’s usual shift was just beginning, and it seemed more and more likely that he saw Rhys and bolted. _Figures._

A nagging feeling plagued the back of his mind until it dawned on him. _The file._ He forgot all about what he saw last night. Wondering if it was even worth it, he slumped further into the corner of the booth, pushing the thought of Jack Lawrence out of his head as best he could. He felt his hands shaking, yet again unsure whether it was caused by exhaustion or anxiety. Yvette returned, two coffees in hand. A familiar wave of fatigue was quenched as he gulped down coffee #6. Headache subsiding, the huddled mess of a student peeled his eyes open before sitting up. 

“Hey Yvette, do you know anything about the Eye of Helios?”

“All I know is that it’s not called the Eye of Helios. I think it’s just the Eye,” she replied casually, but Rhys caught the change in her expression. Her grip on her coffee tightened, her eyes widening ever so slightly. Just as quickly as she showed a new side of her, showed her hand, she relaxed back into her care-free position. 

“I don’t know. I was just reading some articles, and someone called it the Eye of Helios-“

“Rhys, you’re exhausted. We’re in Helios Café. You’re just confusing yourself,” she waved him off, “please just get some rest. We’re worried about you,” she paused for a split second, “you owe me fifteen dollars by the way.”

_Shit, this place really is getting expensive._

“Just shoot him a text, okay?” Vaughn sighed, breaking the silence that had fallen over the three friends, “I’m sorry, but it’s pretty obvious you’re thinking about him. I know you’re not feeling it, but maybe it’ll help with something. I don’t know. Just try? For me.”

Cheeks flushed, he dug his phone out of the back pocket of his faded jeans. Texting Jack seemed like the last thing he wanted to do right now. Rhys was still 100% into him, but at the moment, everything just seemed like too much. Too loud. Too demanding. Too exhausting. The truth was he wasn’t ready for any of it. He sensed that this whole situation was off as if one cog didn’t mesh with the machine or he was looking at everything through a grainy filter. He clearly had no idea who Jack Lawrence was, and yet the pull towards the mysterious, the adventure, the fear of it all was irresistible. Jack could be his way out, a release from his current life as if Rhys were the ignorant protagonist of a young adult book, but the lingering fear of rejection hung over him. Taking one more look at Vaughn, he began typing a message. Beyond the fact that this hot guy was one-of-a-kind, Rhys just felt out of his league around him in more ways than one. 

**Haven’t seen you in a while. Are you working today?**

Rhys's heart skipped a beat when he heard his text tone go off almost immediately.

**Prior commitments kiddo ;)**

_Awesome._ This day just kept getting better and better. _Still calls me kiddo and is probably getting laid right now. Awesome._ Rhys sucked up his disappointment and his overwhelming need to throw his phone across the café, unable to place his finger on the feeling that gripped his chest. Panic? Over what? That sharp squeeze in his chest felt all too familiar and still annoying as fuck at the same time. Taking a deep breath, he attempted to continue the conversation as best he could. 

**Okay?**

**R u coming tmrw?**

**Maybe.**

**K**

**K.**

Rhys gulped down the rest of his coffee, turning off his phone in the process. “I’ll see you guys later,” he said nonchalantly and with that he stood up and walked out the door of the café.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey team. I gotta let you know how I'm organizing this fic. It's slow burn plot wise for sure. This is actually going to be a very big story, so I totally get it if you feel disappointed by the slow reveals. It's coming together. I'm planning on editing the fic summary amongst other things. But yeah. Thanks for the comments and kudos! Much appreciated!!! Tfw you + school = Rhys + school...
> 
> This chapter has been the hardest to write so far, and I apologize for that. I always love to know what you think. More Rhys/Jack interactions in the next chapter!! Because this chapter was shorter and less plot-driven I'll try and update a new chapter sooner!
> 
> Also I think Jack is for sure the kinda guy who would use excessive text abbreviations. <3 <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Jack Lawrence is not a dream come true"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised here is the new chapter as soon as I could have finished it!! Definitely easier to write than the last one as shown by the quick turnover! Plus, it's definitely longer, and there is a lot more interaction with our boys this time.
> 
> Quick life update in case you were wondering (u probably weren't): 3 more apps to do by fifteenth then senior spring time!!! Also I should be doing my O Chem project that is due tomorrow that I have not started yet...

**U didnt com ystrdy**

The light emitted from the phone blinded a sleeping Rhys. Willing his arms to move, he grabbed his phone from his nightstand. It was Jack. 

**Yeah, I know.**

**K… y?**

**Uh, it’s a little out of my price range. I was at Yvette’s place.**

Rhys hated himself for just waiting for Jack to make a move. If Jack still liked him, he certainly didn’t show it anymore. He knew he had to gauge the situation himself, so he took a deep breath and typed:

**What about that movie?**

About a minute passed before his response. 

**Not 2day**

_How much does this phone cost? Can I throw it against a wall? Can God please smite me right now? Please._ His phone beeped again.

**2 hrs. Come 2 helios**

“Wow, thanks for the friendly invite, fucko,” Rhys muttered under his breath, typing out his response.

**Listen. I’m not feeling too good, and I’m kind of busy.**

***2 well dumdum ;)…. Come on. Bring ur hw**

Rhys couldn’t help but feel that stupid butterfly feeling in his stomach as he pulled himself out of bed. The light from the twelve o’clock sun shining through his thin blinds brightened up his room. He marveled at his ability to sleep with the sun in his face. Pushing off his cool blue and red bed-spread welcomed the early summer heat which clung to his body like a mask. A familiar pressure settled in his skull as soon as he stood up, eliciting a loud groan. Eyes still groggy, Rhys trudged to the bathroom. He splashed a bit of water on his face to try and calm his throbbing head. His headache continued, but at least Rhys felt a bit more awake. Setting his sights on some food, he wandered down the small hallway to the living room and kitchen. Vaughn sat on the couch by the TV, feet resting on the coffee table in front of him, working on his laptop. 

“Did you text Jack?” he asked without looking away from his computer.

“Well, good morning to you too,” Rhys responded, pouring himself a bowl of cereal from a random cupboard. 

“Did you?” he asked again finally looking up at his roommate. 

“Yes. I did!” Rhys answered, exasperated. Tossing his bowl in the sink, he trudged back to the bathroom, the weight of his stress still bearing down on his head and shoulders. Starring at his 5/10 appearance in the mirror, he began his journey to looking half-way decent. Hair gel, moisturizer, deodorant. Things some people think are high maintenance but were necessities for Rhys. He put on one of his favorite patterned t-shirts and semi-skinny jeans. You know, so he wouldn’t look like he tried too hard. 

“Hey Vaughn, I’m going to Helios,” Rhys declared, heading back into the living room. The word Helios rolled off his tongue uncomfortably. There was no way it could be a coincidence. However, it’s a cool name, and it was fairly innocuous that the café shared the name of a Hyperion project. What made him uneasy was the complete scrubbing of the name from the company’s current vocabulary. HJ and Helios. Asking Yvette seemed to provide him with even more questions. Her reaction to him mentioning the name was plastered in his mind. That millisecond of emotion that peaked through startled him. She was scared—of whom or for whom he had no idea. Shaking the thought from his aching head, Rhys headed for the door.

“I thought we all agreed that place was too expensive now,” Vaughn wondered aloud. 

“I’m just going to study,” Rhys responded, trying to make last minute adjustments to his hair before he left.

“Aren’t you gonna bring your books?” Vaughn asked from his resting place.

Rhys stopped in his tracks. His face grew warmer. Without looking he knew that Vaughn had a smug smile spread across his face. He turned around, head down, whispered, “right, yeah of course,” and went back to his room to retrieve his book bag.

***

Despite it being a busy Saturday afternoon, Helios Café was surprisingly empty. Perhaps the price hikes had made enough people conscious of their spending habits. Rhys scanned the humble café shop. Nothing was out of the ordinary, although you could argue that the excessive yellow décor was becoming dated. He recognized the girl he saw yesterday at the front, but no Blake and no Jack. Wandering to the back of the café by the door to the kitchen, he didn’t know what he was expecting to see. A secret lock? Access to an underground lab? It was just a door to the kitchen that said “Employees only” on the front, and Helios was just a normal, expensive, hipster coffee shop.

“You gonna buy something?” asked the girl. Rhys jumped, forgetting that his exploring probably looked super weird to the baristas who were just doing their jobs. The nametag on barista’s cute mute-pink blouse read Meg.

“Uh, not right now,” Rhys replied, walking back to his booth nestled in the front left corner of the café. Playing on his phone, attempting to look like he wasn’t loitering, Rhys waited for Jack to show. As the afternoon heat began to set Rhys felt glad he wore a t-shirt. A good half an hour passed, and Rhys decided to just pull out his work and give up the appearance that he hadn’t been waiting for too long. Of the things Jack appeared to be, he never seemed like an asshole. Well, an overt asshole. Okay, a guy who would pester Rhys into showing up at the café he worked at and then stand him up. In actuality, Jack hadn’t done anything mean to him. It was just Rhys who pined for more like a teenager; it pained him to think about how Jack never treated him poorly, it was just, selfishly, not enough for him. He checked the time. 1:30 pm. Wait. He was just early. Rhys felt both relieved that Jack didn’t stand him up but an idiot for not checking the time. Every now and then a person or group of friends walked in, a barista he’d never seen before served them, and they left without sitting down. At the moment, Rhys was the only non-employee in the café. 

“What are you working on?” said Meg from where she was wiping down tables. Rhys finally stopped to look at the girl and realized that she was actually really pretty. She looked a year or two younger than Rhys but only an inch shorter. Wearing her green apron around her shapely waist, each move she made to clean the table in front of her caused the gold bangles around her wrist to jangle noticeably.

“Just some homework,” Rhys said, feeling awkward that he was the only one in the café, “uh, do you want any help?” The barista pushed her blonde hair away from her face, a small chuckle escaping her glossy lips, and walked over to where Rhys sat. Her green eyes scanned the models that Rhys had taken out for reference. 

“Robotics, huh?” she asked, “you want to work for Hyperion or something?”

“One day,” Rhys said. It was the first time he had expressed his desire to work at Hyperion since meeting Jack, and now, saying it out loud made him uneasy. 

“Oh wait I know you! You’re that kid who’s obsessed with Jack!” she gasped.

“What! No, I am not! We’re just friends!” Rhys exclaimed like a little kid, “besides he was the one who hit on me!” He quickly added before pausing and realizing the word vomit that he had just released. It probably would have been easier for him to talk to pretty girls if his head would stop hurting. He was going to kill Jack.

A soft smirk creeped up, “oh awesome. So a girl like me still has a chance.” The college boy’s face turned a cherry red when she winked at him. “Don’t worry about Jack,” she added, taking a seat across from him and lowering her voice, “there are two things you should know about him. One, Jack Lawrence is not a dream come true, and two, your talents would be better used with someone else-- I mean somewhere else.” The front door opened with a loud jingle of bells, and Jack walked into the café. 

“My God, Meg! Quit friggin’ harassing the kid and get back to work,” he said from the door. Meg scoffed and pushed herself out of the booth, disappearing to the kitchen just in time for Jack to bounce into the seat she occupied.

“Wow, you’re early,” he said, taking note of the homework that Rhys had long since taken out, “must’ve been really excited to see me, huh?” The college student rolled his eyes, a slight smile peeking through. For the first time Rhys had seen him, Jack wasn’t wearing his uniform. He wore a mustard yellow button up, again with only the bottom two-thirds of the buttons buttoned and the sleeves rolled up-- same old. Hair pulled back by the aviators resting on the top his head, his fingers were decorated with silver rings, a new addition to his wardrobe. Dammit, he looked really good. “Meg didn’t bother you or anything, right?” he asked. Rhys shook his head no.

“Not at all,” Rhys replied, ignoring what she had just said about Jack. Besides, she struck Rhys as a really nice, if not a little bit jealous, woman. Jack pursed his lips and nodded, eyeing the door to the kitchen Meg left through. Elated, Rhys detected the slightest hint of Jack’s own jealousy.

Clearing his throat, Jack spread his legs and arms, taking his space on his side of the booth, and said, “aren’t you gonna order something for us?” Rhys rolled his eyes out of pure annoyance. Did he really have to spell it out for this guy again?

“It’s like I said before. My friends and I decided that we aren’t going to buy from here anymore-- I’m sorry. It’s just too expensive for us,” he stated, trying his hardest to maintain his composure. 

“It’s not expensive with a discount,” Jack replied, avoiding eye contact with the younger man.

“I don’t have a discount,” Rhys said, finding himself getting more and more irritated—the nerve this guy had!

“Yes, you do, stupid!” Jack yelled. He seemed almost nervous like he and Rhys weren’t on the same page. Actually, now that he thought about it, they were never really on the same page. Jack ripped a page out of Rhys’s notebook, much to his dismay, snatched a pencil, wrote in big letters CUTE PPL GET FREE COFFEE, and threw it at the college student’s face like a five year-old who didn’t get his way. “It’s free! On the house! Get what you want!” He shouted and sank back into the booth, annoyed that he had to literally spell it out, the redness in his cheeks that had appeared melting away. Petrified, Rhys had no idea how to respond. A part of him wanted to laugh for his bratty behavior. He wouldn’t have been surprised if his face was permanently red as well. A minute of silence passed between the two before Rhys decided to break the silence. 

“Aren’t you going to get fired?” Rhys inquired, thinking it was the only good thing to say. It seemed too good to be true once again. Besides, he didn’t want this guy to lose his job or anything.

“Yeah, you’re right, I should probably check with the owner,” he paused and turned away from Rhys. He held a hand to his face before whirling back around and announcing, “Owner says yes! In case you didn’t get it, I’m the owner.” The wide, toothy grin on Jack’s face elicited a soft laugh from Rhys. Jack laughed with him, warm and friendly. Rhys wanted to hear that laugh until he died. Finally calming down, Jack put on a serious face. 

“Do you need to be studying right now?” Jack said, a patronizing tone saturating every word. Rhys rolled his eyes for the third time. First, this guy pesters him to meeting him, then gives him free coffee, only to not actually want to hang out with him? Fuck that.

“I’m doing fine,” he huffed, “I just brought my homework, so my roommate wouldn’t be suspicious.” Rhys immediately regretted saying that because the response he got was a loud string of giggles from the older man. 

“Ooooh, suspicious huh? kitten, you’re a riot!” he shouted with a malicious grin plastered on his face. The scar stretched out to accommodate the wide smile. Rhys scoffed and crossed his arms. “I didn’t know you’re the kind of guy who sneaks off to cafes in broad daylight to meet up with handsome men. Aw, don’t make that face. It makes me sad!” He turned around to look at the front counter, the grin on his face disappearing like a flash. “MEG! I needed those drinks over here fifteen minutes ago!” The abruptness of his personality shifts caused Rhys to shift his weight forward, alert and cautious. 

In record time, Meg pushed open the kitchen door with her back, a milkshake and a cup of coffee in hand. She dumped them at their table with a quick wink to Rhys, blatantly refusing to acknowledge Jack’s existence and just as quickly as she appeared she returned to her job behind the closed kitchen door. Not waiting for Rhys to fill the gap in the conversation, Jack went to town on his milkshake, and Rhys felt his mind begin to wander. Here he was with Jack again. Over the course of the four days that he has known the man sitting in front of him. The strange man whose looks, charisma, intrigue lured Rhys time and time again into thinking that he needed this man—was only two feet away, and Rhys didn’t exactly know what he wanted from Jack, but he knew that he wanted that distance to shrink. His thoughts meandered until they landed on the Hyperion files again, files that he was supposed to find Jack on but found much stranger things. 

“Hey, so I was talking to my friend. She works at Hyperion, and she mentioned something that I wondered if you knew about?” Rhys said, deciding to take a leap of faith. Jack tensed, but his expression remained unchanged.

“Shoot,” he retorted, taking a huge gulp from his milkshake. Okay, Jack seemed to be in a good enough mood that he could pull this off. Rhys took a deep breath and prayed he was not about to make a huge mistake. 

“Who’s HJ?”

Jack choked for a second on his drink, eyes widening. _Okay, maybe not._ Right hand clenched into a fist, Jack set his cup on the table firmly. The ink on the tattoo on his wrist lightened under the pressure.

“Oh my God. Rhysie, what were you thinking?” He lowered his voice, but his intensity plateaued. 

“What are you talking about?” Rhys asked, taken back by the force of Jack’s reaction. 

“You actually hacked into Hyperion’s database!” he laughed bitterly. The look that bored into Rhys’s soul filled him with a fight or flight instinct, “you moron, you could’ve gotten hurt!” He heard concern. Concern? Why did this guy he met four days ago care so much? Everything seemed so off. Why was this such a big deal? It wasn’t exactly difficult information to find. Rhys felt his head spin. Jack leaned back, attempting to downplay his outburst. Crossing his arms, he let his sarcastic attitude float back up to the surface. He managed to keep a strange aura about him. Calm was the only word Rhys could use to describe him but not relaxed-- like the calm before a storm. “Sheesh,” he scoffed, “even the dumbest coding monkeys at Hyperion know not to mess around with things they shouldn’t know.”

“Jack, I don’t understand-“

“You don’t have to understand,” he groaned, “don’t worry your pretty little head about it. And don’t do it again. Thank God you didn’t get yourself into more trouble. Why were you hacking into Hyperion in the first place?”

“Uh- I- um- er,” Rhys stammered. _Fuck._ Jack stared at him with those gorgeous blue and green eyes, melting all of Rhys’s thoughts right when he needed them the most. As much as he tried, for some reason, he couldn’t get himself to focus. Throwing back his head, Jack let out a loud laugh. A wave of irrational irritation bubbled inside of Rhys; he wanted nothing more than for Jack to stop laughing. Well, not for him to stop laughing specifically, but suddenly every noise in the café amplified in Rhys’s head. He felt his heart beat speed up like he was strapped to a rollercoaster. 

“Don’t tell me!” Jack continued to cackle, “Oh my God. That’s golden.” He wiped his watering eyes with the palms of his hands.

“It was a dare!” Rhys exclaimed, his voice running a little too fast, trying to cover his ass, mortified that he had been caught snooping in Jack’s past, “Yvette told me I couldn’t do it.”

“Yeah, sure, cupcake!” he responded. His laughter banging against his ears, Rhys felt his head start to spin again, the lights suddenly too bright for him. He pushed himself to focus back on Jack, but the excruciating pain in his skull made his vision blur. Anxiety began to flood his senses as he took breathes in and out, but nothing could calm his body down. “Kitten, you okay?” Jack said to him, but it was as if someone was wringing his body dry like a dish towel, and his extreme flight response was matched by his body’s inability to muster the energy to move. The last thing he remembered before blacking out was Jack standing over him, fear overwhelming his piercing eyes as he screamed, “MEG, I needed an ambulance here two minutes ago!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry 'nother cliffhanger, but no more games anymore!!! :D we're getting to the good stuff very soon :3 Soon all of this Hyperion nonsense will be addressed as well as Jack's blatant inability to communicate :D Who's Meg? Who's HJ? And most importantly who's Jack Lawrence?
> 
> I don't know about y'all but Jack doesn't strike me as someone who drops the f-bomb. God damn and shit for sure but not the f-word. 
> 
> As always I would love to know what you guys think. A comment or a kudo is greatly appreciated! Or if you want hmu at okayyouhappynow.tumblr.com


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys wakes up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy. Here is it! Chapter 5! I swear I haven't abandoned my baby. Especially not before we get to the good stuff!!
> 
> I really apologize for not updating sooner I was preoccupied with the fact that I can't leave the country anymore, and I might be put on a registry sometime soon. On the bright side, all of my college apps are done!
> 
> But I know for a lot of people writing is like a release, and that's what I've found too. I love this story because I love the game, and I love the story of the game. I love these two characters and their dynamics, and I have found a lot of meaning behind it. Please enjoy this chapter.

Rhys blinked his eyes open, letting in the bright hospital lights. He attempted to turn his face to look at his surroundings, but panic welled up in his body again as he discovered he was still unable to move a muscle. Breathe speeding up again, Rhys flashed his eyes around frantically but found that he was alone in the room. He strained his eyes to look at the rest of his body and noticed the IV sticking out of his arm. Forcing himself to calm down, Rhys decided to get to work. He turned his focus on his hands and willed his fingers to move. Bit by bit he regained control of his joints. Sitting up, he realized his body felt like it was hit by a truck. A familiar pounding rose in his head causing him to fall back onto the hospital bed with an annoyed “ooph.” Giving into his exhaustion, Rhys drifted back to sleep.

***

“Extreme dehydration was the main factor,” the doctor explained to the pair, “the boy had an abhorrent amount of caffeine in his system and signs of prolonged stress. He’ll make a full recovery for sure, but we want to hold him for the night in case he begins showing signs of withdrawal.”

“Withdrawal? As in drugs?” Vaughn asked incredulously. The shorter man stood beside Yvette in the hallway of the hospital. Clearly uncomfortable, Vaughn shifted his weight to stand against his left hip. 

“No, don’t worry. While it is certainly less common than substance abuse, many people under extreme stress suffer from caffeine addiction,” she explained. Vaughn let out a sigh of relief. _Caffeine, huh? Gee, I wonder where I got that from._ Speak of the devil, Vaughn picked out a man standing an awkwardly close distance to them. 

“What’re you doing here?” Vaughn spat at Jack who was leaning against the hallway, listening intently. Raising his eyebrows in amusement, Jack pushed off the wall and approached the two.

“Oooh, wow. I’m going to ignore that attitude,” Jack said, forcing a smile, “Rhys let me in, considering how I was the one who got him to the hospital, so take a step back, mama-bear.” At that point, Jack hovered over the bespectacled man.

“You’re the one who got him in the hospital,” Vaughn huffed under his breath. 

“Vaughn, relax. I’m sure that’s not the way it happened,” Yvette interjected from behind him, “stop stressing out.”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay. You’re probably right,” he said to Yvette, a little guilty about his outburst. On the other hand, it was so much easier to blame Jack. “Can we go see him now?” He turned to the doctor. 

“Of course, as soon as he wakes up. He’s been sleeping for the last eighteen hours. This boy is exhausted. You three should be taking better care of your friends if you ask me,” the doctor said judgmentally before gesturing to Rhys’s door and leaving the three alone in the hallway. Vaughn turned and scanned the taller man. Jack looked like he hadn’t had a blink of sleep in the last eighteen hours.

“How- How have you been?” Vaughn asked sheepishly. Jack ran a hand over his face and sighed.

“I’m fine. I brought the kid here, and I stayed for a while before he went to sleep. Went back home. And ya know. I wondered how he was doing, so here I am,” He replied nonchalantly despite his appearance. He pushed back his hair and gestured to the door, “you two go on in first.” Confused, Vaughn and Yvette went into the room, leaving Jack as the last person in the hallway. The hospital didn’t appear to be busy, doctors walked around relaxed. Jack took a deep breath and felt his own tiredness wash over him. He did go back home, but a nagging worry plagued his dreams until he gave up on sleeping altogether. _Stupid kid._ He scanned the hallway, straining to hear what was happening in the room until he felt a firm hand grip his shoulder. Body tensing, Jack kept his gaze forward, refusing to look at the person behind him. He felt the person move closer to his left ear, almost close enough to rest their chin on his shoulder. A soft laugh—a man’s laugh—froze Jack in place.

“Careful, Jackie,” said the man, letting go of him. Jack whirled around to see the man turn the corner, but he knew better than to follow him. 

***

Yvette sat on Rhys’s bedside eating from one of two boxes of chocolates Vaughn had bought him. His two friends decided that they were going to stay with Rhys until they had to leave for the night. 

“Guys, I’m fine now. I promise,” Rhys laughed nervously. The attention felt uncomfortable, and he wanted nothing more than for everything to go back to normal. His IV was out, and while he still felt exhausted, he just wanted to go back home, “did you bring any of my textbooks?” Vaughn and Yvette shared a look.

“Nu-uh, Rhys. You need to get some rest. I mean it,” Yvette threatened, popping another piece of candy into her mouth. Rhys looked at Vaughn for any kind of support.

“She’s right, Rhys,” Vaughn said, “but! I did bring you some comic books, so you wouldn’t get bored.” He took out a stack of five books from his bag and placed them at the table next his bed.

“Come on, Vaughn, they’re graphic novels,” Rhys whined, pulling the stack of books next to him. He unwrapped the remaining box of chocolate and popped one in his mouth. The bitter taste melted in his mouth. Of course, Vaughn knew to get him the darkest dark chocolate he could find. 

“I got one that was milk chocolate to ‘appease’ Yvette,” he chuckled, “I don’t know how you can eat something so bitter,” he paused, “are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

“Okay,” Rhys replied because fuck Vaughn and his stupid genuine concern, “I’m not gonna lie. I feel like I was hit by a truck, but I’m fine now. I just needed some rest that’s all.”

“I heard you passed out in front of that hot barista,” Yvette interjected. Rhys felt his face turn red. Shit. Well, that was probably the most flattering thing to do in front of him as if this situation couldn’t get any more embarrassing. 

“Oh my God—Jack! Jack was there,” Rhys said, “did he- Did he- I don’t know-“

“What? Is he your boyfriend now?” Yvette said, her mouth full of the last chocolate, a delicious smirk spread across her face despite this.

“No. Not all. We haven’t even- I mean he hasn’t even. I don’t think he’s interested,” Rhys sputtered.

“He’s outside, dumbass. I think he’s interested,” Yvette rolled her eyes.

“He is?! Like what’s he doing out there?” Rhys almost yelled before realizing that he could probably hear them in the hallway if they were too loud.

“What do you think? Oh my God. You are hopeless,” Yvette began to speak comically slow, “he’s. Here. To. See. Your. Stupid. Face,” she grabbed Vaughn’s arm, “anyways. It was nice seeing you. We got to go to work tomorrow, so we’ll be taking off. Thanks for the chocolate by the way!” With that Yvette led Vaughn out the door huffing, “gotta do everything myself, don’t I?”

Rhys let out a sigh, but the joy bubbling inside him didn’t disperse. His excitement that Jack wanted to see him was matched by the intense butterfly feeling he had in his stomach. He contemplated pretending to be asleep to avoid messing everything up. _Snap out of it, Rhys, okay? Play it cool._

He pulled the blanket off of him and let his legs hang off the side of the bed. The door to his room opened and shut, letting in the cacophony of the hospital hallway. Rhys took the chance to look out the window. It was getting late, but the summer sun set late, so the light cast a bronze glow in the room. 

“Hey, kiddo,” said the man who just entered the room. Jack remained a few feet from the door, a comfortable distance from Rhys, “How are ya- How are you feeling?” He cleared his throat, his weight shifting between his feet as if the ground wasn’t solid anymore. Jack was wearing the same clothes that he remembered him last wearing. His hair was ruffled, and he had a 5 o’clock shadow lining his jaw, but damn if that didn’t make him any less attractive.

“I’m fine,” Rhys picked up the box of chocolate and offered him one. The air in the room suffocated in the unspoken words between them—words that neither of them had the courage to say. Jack finally stepped away from the door and took a chocolate, his bouncy swagger reappearing in his long strides. He took a seat in the uncomfortable chair next to Rhys. He ate the chocolate and winced slightly at the taste. 

“Damn. I took you for a white chocolate kind of guy,” he said with a wink. Rhys scoffed.

“So-um. I know this is really weird,” _Fuck. Forming sentences around this guy is a nightmare,_ “but what exactly happened at the café?”

“It’s fine really. Understandable even. You fainted. Happens a lot in my presence,” Jack replied, a wide, toothy grin across his tired face. Rhys raised his eyebrows at him. Jack coughed and continued, “you passed out. Doc said cause you had too much caffeine cause you don’t drink responsibly—shame on you, by the way. I called an ambulance and got you to the hospital. So you’re welcome?”

“Oh. Thanks. I guess,” Rhys said, “so why are you still here?” Jack shifted his position on the chair.

“What does it matter?” Jack scoffed. 

“Do you feel guilty or something?” Rhys pried, keeping down a laugh. 

“What? No. I didn’t do anything wrong,” he snapped before letting a smirk grow on his face, “It’s your fault for not telling me you’re an addict. I was the good Samaritan.” He continued to babble about how he only came because it was on his way home from work, and he wanted his thank you. There it was. That stupid flip that drove Rhys crazy. Jack sat a few feet from him, but, to Rhys, they were, once again, miles apart. Every time, they got anywhere Jack flipped or retreated, or maybe he realized he was making a mistake, whatever.

All Rhys knew was that he was tired of feeling insecure about this, feeling hope where there might not be, or hesitating when he shouldn’t. Jack was standing now, pacing, saying something about his café or something, but Rhys wasn’t paying any more attention. He stood up to meet Jack, but Jack didn’t have care. He was too busy ranting to himself. It was almost laughable how self-absorbed he was. Rhys didn’t blame him, though. If he were half as handsome or as smart as Jack he’d be all wrapped up in himself too, but enough was enough. That pull deep in his core wanted nothing more than for Jack to shut up. 

“And another thing—like I totally get it—maybe you have a thing for guys with-“ Jack whirled around and stopped mid-sentence when he realized how close Rhys was to him. Rhys took the opportunity to close his eyes and plant his lips on Jack’s. He waited for something—anything, but the man with the bouncy personality and the mouth that wouldn’t stop moving stood frozen. Rhys gently pulled away and looked Jack in the eyes. Those wide, unblinking eyes stared holes into him. Rhys couldn’t read his face. There was no disgust or anger, just pure, unadulterated shock or computing, perhaps calculating his next move?

The younger man gauged him in silence. Jack cautiously hooked Rhys’s chin with his thumb and forefinger, tilted his head upwards, and pulled him for another kiss which he gladly reciprocated. Jack slide his hand behind his head, deepening the kiss. When he finally let go, Rhys felt like he was going to pass out again. His legs were glued to the spot, and he didn’t want to move. The lower part of his torso felt pleasantly warm. He wanted to stay like this. Neither of them spoke. Rhys had never seen Jack’s face so red. To Rhys’s surprise, the older man pressed another harsh kiss on his mouth as if to prove to himself that this was real and that he could. Rhys caught a flash of a smile from Jack before he let it dissolve again. They stood like that for what felt like an eternity. It was dark now; the dim lamp was the only source of light in the room. A vibrating noise broke the silence between the two, and Jack looked down at the phone in his pocket. He moved to take it out, but Rhys grabbed his hand.

“Stay,” he said, “please?”

Jack grabbed the palm of Rhys’s hand and squeezed it; he took out his phone and checked the message. He exhaled deeply and looked back up into Rhys’s icy blue and brown eyes.

“I’m sorry. I’ve got to go,” Jack sighed, “I’ll call you.” He didn’t need to say it, but Rhys knew it was a promise. He walked towards the door and turned back around one more time, “lay off the coffee, would you?” and with that, he turned and exited the room. Rhys sat back down in the empty room, content and hopeful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay!! It finally happened!!
> 
> I will try my hardest to be more regular with the updates, but I can't promise anything. Please let me know what you think. I love to read your comments to see what you think. They are really motivating and not weird or anything I swear! Even a short sentence makes my whole week during this really poopy time.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhys gets some answers and a lot more questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey this is trash sorry, I have no idea what I am doing aahaha. I'm sorry for taking so long to update. School has been slapping me across the face multiple times. On the bright side, I got into college (wooo). But yeah this is trash. I'm trash enjoy!

The sun was high in the sky when Rhys woke up, ready to be out of this goddamn room. He wanted nothing more than to go back to his apartment, shower, and sleep in his own bed. The IV they reattached while he slept was still stuck to his arm, and Rhys admitted he was too squeamish to pull it out himself, sighing deeply with annoyance. 

A button lay next to him to call the nurse. He pushed the button, hoping it didn’t mean he was having a heart attack or something. A nurse soon walked in. He stood half a foot shorter than Rhys and wore a kind smile across his clean-shaven face.

“Hi, um,” Rhys mumbled, “can I leave? I’m feeling a lot better.” The nurse nodded and moved to remove the IV from his arm.

“Yes. As soon as I take one last check, you should be good to go,” he said, “you also have a visitor, but I figured you wanted to get dressed first since he wasn’t on your emergency contacts or family.” 

“What’s he look like?” the young man asked, putting on the clothes Vaughn brought him. 

“Ah. I don’t know, man. Tall, well-dressed. He’s got uh brown hair and some gray in it?” he replied, “he like your boss or something?”

“He’s... uh,” Rhys paused, realizing how hard it was to answer that question, “just some guy. He’s my friend.” The man nodded his head in understanding. “Can he come in?” The nurse said yes and he left to retrieve Jack from wherever he was waiting. Rhys took the chance to stand up and stretch. He felt much better, awake and rested. 

He felt like he could run a mile, well, not like a full mile. More like a hundred yard sprint or something. Putting on his clothes, he couldn’t wait to see the last of his finals come and go. He only had to finish one exam and an essay, and he was home-free. As Rhys finished buttoning up his shirt, Jack walked in the room alone. 

He stood in the doorway, took in Rhys’s appearance, and sighed obnoxiously loud. 

“Please for your own good and whatever’s left of my sanity, leave Hyperion alone,” he said. Rhys posture deflated. _Well, good morning to you too._ Noticing, Jack let out another exasperated sigh. “I’ll give you one question, okay? Then you have to promise me you won’t go looking into them anymore.” Giving Rhys a chance to satisfy his curiosity. 

“Okay, I promise,” Rhys gulped, crossing his arms. He took a moment to decide what would be his question. He made his decision and said, “who’s HJ?”

“Which one?” Jack replied instantaneously, “oh shit.” Rhys did a double take.

“Which one- What do you mean which one?” Jack groaned loudly and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“Not here,” he whispered sternly. 

“Excuse me?” Rhys replied. _What the hell was this guy talking about?_ Just when he thought he knew what was going on…

“Are you deaf? I said not here. We have to go somewhere else,” Jack whispered. His eyes were intense, and Rhys immediately knew he wasn’t kidding. Rhys didn’t know whether it was curiosity or lust made him follow Jack out the door. 

***

They left the hospital together, walking a modest foot next to each other. Jack took the lead, hailing a cab from across the street. He hopped into the front seat, and Rhys sat in the back. The two didn’t exchange many words along the ride, and Rhys was ready for answers. Finally, they pulled into Jack’s apartment complex. 

The apartment complex that Jack lived in looked fancy, to say the least, much nicer than his and Vaughn’s place. Jack waltzed up to the door and scanned his card on the handle. With a satisfying click, the heavy but elegant door swung open, making room for the lobby. 

The lobby was modern. And when Rhys said modern, he meant rich. Really rich. Fountains poured in the corners, and white and black angular furniture sat in perfection. Surprisingly for such an upper-end apartment complex, there was no one at the front counter, no doorman, no security guard, and no other tenants in sight. The only sound came from the rushing fountains. _How much is the fucking rent here, geez._ Stepping in front of the appalled Rhys, Jack pressed a button onto the elevator and gestured for him to follow. 

“You hungry?” Jack asked, keeping his eye on the blinking elevator lights as they ascended the building.

“Not really,” Rhys replied but immediately regretted saying that when he felt his stomach grumble. 

The elevator stopped a few floors from the top, and the pair stepped off, thankfully. Rhys did not know how he could handle Jack, the owner of a fucking coffee shop with a mysterious (and maybe criminal??) past, owning the fucking penthouse apartment. Paying no heed to the younger man behind him, since there was no doubt he was still following him, Jack walked up to his apartment door, punched in a PIN number, swiped his card again, and pressed his thumb to the small scanner on the wall. No other doors had the same security measures as Jack, worrying Rhys. 

“What’s with all the locks?” Rhys asked.

“What? People get robbed all the time. Especially by their landlords,” Jack replied curtly as he stepped inside his apartment. Taking a deep breath and praying he wasn’t about to enter the lair of a serial killer, the younger man walked through the doorway. _Please God, he’s cute. Don’t ruin this for me._ Something popped loudly inside him, making the already-tense man jump and grip onto the closest thing in front of him. 

He opened his eyes and found himself looking right into Jack’s eyes. His hands were gripping the lapels of his shirt in a panic. As much as he willed himself to let go, he was frozen in place from fear. It must have been quite a sight. Rhys clinging onto Jack Lawrence for dear life. A warm laugh rose from Jack’s chest, vibrating his hands. Rhys felt his face turn bright red, dread building in his chest.

“Didn’t know you were so jumpy, kitten,” Jack chuckled lightly. He took Rhys’s hands off of his shirt and smoothed out any wrinkles. Rhys let out the air he was holding in his lungs. Running his arms along his torso, he quickly determined that he was fine. _Then what was?_

 _What the hell?_ From his back pocket, Rhys pulled out his phone, or what was now an unresponsive hunk of metal. He tried to turn it on again but received another loud pop and a fizz as a response. 

“Uh Jack?” Rhys said quietly. The older man turned around, took stock of Rhys’s bewildered expression and, much to his dismay, started cackling. 

“Ah! Sorry, kitten!” he said coolly in between breaths, “forgot to warn ya about that! That doorway over there shuts off devices that are pre-programmed and well, destroys anyone’s that aren’t.” He clapped a hand on his shoulder, “I’ll buy ya a new one or something.” Rhys pushed his hand off of his shoulder, stunned. 

“Why would you do that?” Rhys asked completely and utterly confused. He felt he like he just waltzed into a movie. 

“Why not? This apartment is a clean room,” he explained, “no hackable electronics, no public internet. It’s safer that way.” 

“Safer from what? Jack. You have to admit. The extra locks on the doors. The... clean room? This is really weird,” Rhys sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “like really weird.” Jack took a seat on top of his marble countertop and rested his cheek on his fist. The apartment itself wasn’t as big as Rhys was expecting, but it was still very large especially for one person. It looked pristine as if no one had been lived there for weeks.

A fully equipped kitchen was on the right of the room. Rhys let his mind drift into a momentary daydream of a domestic Jack cooking, wearing an apron. Just an apron. Angular furniture lined the living room to the left, and each piece looked very expensive.

“First of all, what did you find when you were stalking me on the internet?” he asked, sitting up and crossing his arms, pulling Rhys out of his racy daydream, “yeah, sweet-cheeks. Don’t think I forgot. Cause that was weird. Like really weird.” Rhys pouted. It seemed like the two of them had started their battle of wits.

“I asked you first,” the younger man said. Jack let the air out of lungs with a hiss and hopped down from the counter top. He stepped towards Rhys and gave him a leering full-body scan. 

“God dammit, you’re adorable,” he sneered, reaching up to rub his hands against Rhys’s sore arms, and just like that he won. However, Jack looked hesitant as if he still wasn’t sure what was okay or not to do. Making up his mind, he pulled the younger man into a soft kiss. “Alright fine,” he said after pulling away. He distanced himself from Rhys in preparation. Rubbing the tattoo on his wrist, he started, “to answer your very first question. HJ is-er-was Hyperion’s president. Who knows what happened to him. I left before that happened. Probably got what was coming to him. So yeah. That’s that. Yours truly, on the other hand, worked for Hyperion. Emphasis on the past tense there. Me and Hyperion didn’t exactly part ways on the best of terms. This is just…” he paused, searching for the right word, “a precaution.”

“But what’s Hyperion gonna do? They’re just a tech company,” Rhys replied.

“Okay, guess you didn’t see _that_ big spoiler when you were snooping,” he scoffed. Rhys felt his cheeks go red again. He wasn’t exactly focused on the company mission as he was on digging up whatever he could on Jack. Taking a seat on the pale, gray couch by the window, Jack gritted his teeth, “Hyperion does a lot of stuff they don’t want people to know about. Yeah, they make software and fancy robotic prosthetics that help sick kids and crap, but they also manufacture weapons. A shit ton.” 

The long window behind him let in the bright, summer light but also cast in Jack under a slight shadow, his upside-down V-shaped scar somehow looking more noticeable. 

“How do they get away with that?” Rhys probed. It seemed ridiculous that a company that garnered so much attention could get away with mass-producing weapons. He wondered how that was even possible. He wondered how much Yvette lied to him. 

“Ehhh,” Jack replied, “it’s not _that_ hard. They have a headquarters not too far from here. You know, for reporters, visitors, all the good stuff. But the real center of operations. That’s very far away. And very secret. Plenty of room for running tests, mining materials, and weapons manufacturing. Every employee knows about it of course, but Hyperion is very good at making sure no one snitches. They know how to keep their secrets hidden. But you-“ Jack tried to gather his thoughts, “you’re something different I guess.” He broke their eye contact to stretch himself out along the edges of the coach. 

“Here give me your phone,” Jack said. Rhys obliged, handing him his broken phone and taking a seat in the armchair to Jack’s left. Jack peeled off the case of the phone and ran the pads of his thumb against the inside. The younger man watched as Jack went to his kitchen and pulled out a pair of pliers from a drawer. He took off his silver rings and his glasses, making himself more comfortable as he went to work taking apart the case. 

In a flash, the case was in three pieces, and in Jack’s hand was a circular disc the size of a dime. He walked back to Rhys and showed him the disc before breaking it in half with a loud snap, and handing it and the disassembled case back. “See?” he said. 

Rhys inspected the device that had been planted in his phone. 

“A tracking device? But why? I haven’t done anything to Hyperion!” he said incredulous, “except for um- hacking into their databases- Fuck!” Jack chuckled next to him.

“Plus, I’m a pretty big deal. So just being associated with me gets you some red flags by your name,” Jack leaned back into his couch.

“So you are—or were—a big deal at Hyperion? What about the Eye? Did they change the name from Helios to just the Eye? Why would they do that? Also, that’s the name of your café which is kind of weird too. I guess not really weird because you worked there, but I asked my friend. I guess- gosh. What did you do in Hyperion were a coder or?--” Rhys rambled. To his disappointment, Jack interrupted him with a loud yawn.

“Boy, you’re just full of questions today, aren’t you? Let’s see. No, so stop asking. Yes. Cause they can? And who cares?” he said through his yawn, “Not me that’s for sure. I’m pretty bored.” He moved to place his hands on either arm of the chair Rhys sat on, trapping him. Hovering over him, Jack planted his lips on Rhys’s, dissolving all of the words Rhys had on his mind. The kiss was deeper than the last one. Needier. There he was. It felt like a dream. Being there in Jack’s apartment. Kissing Jack Lawrence in his apartment. 

He kept his eyes shut, fearing he would lose his mind if he made eye contact with Jack in this situation, even if it was just a thinly veiled distraction. This was it. He was going to melt into the floor if Jack continued. But as quickly as he had initiated the contact, Jack pulled away and stood back in the middle of living room, leaving Rhys flustered, his body warm and needy. 

“Geez, pumpkin. At least take me out to dinner before you go on seducing me,” he said with a smug smile. Even though the two hadn’t known each other long, Rhys found himself getting better at detecting the older man’s emotions, and he knew more than to push Jack and their new terrifying experiment, but fuck he almost hated to admit how much he wanted Jack. Rhys quietly forced the discomfort in his pants down.

He let Jack gather his thoughts in silence, attempting to look as judgement-free as possible. Pacing around the living room trying to make himself more comfortable in the new place he hurled himself into, Jack hurriedly picked up Rhys’s phone and began tinkering with it. 

“So. Pumpkin. What kind of phone do you want?” he asked. The broken phone was now in pieces on the coffee table in front of Jack. 

“Oh uh, don’t worry about it. Actually what time is it, anyway?” Rhys asked when he stupidly realize he had no idea how much time had passed without his phone.

“Four,” he replied, taking a peek at the manual clock on the kitchen wall, “I can order a pizza or something if you want.” A small, guilty feeling nagged at the back of Rhys’s mind. Vaughn was probably waiting for him to get home and get food or something. 

“I should actually go back home. Vaughn’s probably worried sick,” Rhys said, buttoning up his shirt and standing up. Jack stood back and rubbed the wrist tattoo again. A habit, Rhys suspected. 

“Right, short stack,” he huffed with a hint of jealousy in his voice. 

Rhys nodded. He gathered the few belongings he had in the hospital and walked up to the older man who cleared his throat, put on a smirk, and held out his hand. 

The younger man held in a chuckle and figured what the hell. He stood up on his toes slightly and pressed a kiss on Jack’s lips, and Jack let him. 

Their secrets would come out sooner or later. For now, Rhys left Jack’s apartment once again content with where things were. He was afraid going too fast, letting Jack in before he was ready or risking one of them finding out something they didn’t want the other to know. About each other or about the shit storm that they would find themselves in soon enough. 

***

Opening up the door to his apartment, Rhys let himself finally relax, ecstatic to be back home. It was still late in the afternoon, and Vaughn sat on their kitchen table on his laptop. He dumped his things on the coach and waltzed into the kitchen, looking for something to eat.

“Took you a while to be cleared, huh,” Vaughn said without looking up from his laptop, a smirk plastered across his face.

“Just shut up. Would ya?” Rhys replied, hiding his face in the fridge. He pulled out some leftovers and sat next to Vaughn. 

“What’s going on with you two?” Vaughn asked.

“I don’t know,” he responded.

“You don’t know?” Vaughn looked up from his computer, leaned back in his chair, and pushed up his glasses.

“No. I just. Fuck. Something’s going on, Vaughn,” Rhys said.

“I mean, yeah I figured,” his roommate rolled his eyes. 

“No. I mean yeah. But this is something else. Vaughn. Hyperion put a fucking tracking device on my phone,” Rhys explained, pulling out the broken contraption from his pocket.

“Whoa. Are you serious?!” Vaughn exclaimed, holding the tracking device up to the light, “it’s like we’re in a fucking movie! That’s pretty cool.”

“Okay, yeah, it is a little cool,” Rhys admitted, “but this means that there is something going on right?”

“Yeah, yeah it does. I don’t know about you, but maybe you should ask Yvette. Maybe she knows something,” Vaughn supposed.

“Actually,” Rhys gulped, “I don’t think she’s going to tell us anything. I think Hyperion has a pretty firm grip on their workers. I asked her something about Hyperion the other day, and she just froze. Maybe we should just keep this between us.”

“Hmm, yeah,” Vaughn agreed, “that seems like the safe bet. We are bros.”

“True that,” Rhys said, taking a bite out his plate of food.

“I’m sure ATLAS would also love some dirt on Hyperion,” Vaughn laughed, “we could be like corporate spies!”

“Yeah. If Hyperion doesn’t squash us like cockroaches first,” Rhys replied. He had finished his food much faster than he had anticipated. He cleaned up and got up. 

“Hey, you have your boyfriend to protect you,” Vaughn pointed out.

“Shut up”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this becoming a crack fic?? Who knows?! I certainly don't. Regardless I hope you didn't puke while reading this. So thanks for sticking with it for this long.
> 
> Kudos, comments, bookmarks. Love em. If you wanna take the time to do that, it makes my existence. I take every kudo and such to heart. I love you. Have a wonderful day/night. Tell the people you love that you love them. Please!
> 
> I should have gotten ready for school, but I did not. I totally DID NOT listen to the Dragon Ball GT theme while writing this chapter. Absolutely not. That would be ridiculous.


End file.
